Staff Engineer, Autonomy Integration (R2618)

Introduction to Shield AIFounded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown a fighter jet (F-16), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (V-BAT), and a quadcopter (Nova). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies.

An autonomy engineer on the Hivemind Systems Integration team will be responsible for integrating autonomy libraries, command applications, and developer tooling/infrastructure into a cohesive product that can applied across a wide range of applications. Our goal is to provide “defect-free” product releases at a regular cadence and ensure that internal and external customers are able to rapidly build upon Hivemind.

What You'll Do:

• Leverage theShield AI’s autonomy software development kit (Hivemind SDK) to develop innovative solutions for runtime assurance and autonomy across emerging platforms.
• Integrate autonomy software on hardware platforms
• Develop specialized capabilities for emerging platforms that incorporate platform specific sensors, effectors, and motion models
• Package and deploy code for a variety ofcomputer architectures
• Develop simulation in the loop, hardware in the loop, and vehicle in the loop tests
• Create tools that assist in certifying code for flight readiness.
• Improve the SDK by identify gaps and working with Product Management to design solutions
• Work with the autonomy teams to resolve issues that might require more in-depth solutions.

Required Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 6 years and a Master’s degree; or 4 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
• Deep experience with C++14 and beyond
• Experience with Python
• Experience with git or other modern version control systems (e.g. mercurial)
• Experience working in large, complex, distributed systems
• You have a demonstrated record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others.
• You have a willingness to jump out of your comfort zone to help out other teammates as needed.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with C++17 or greater
• Experience with hands-on debugging of complex software and autonomy systems on real world platforms
• Experience with Run-Time Assurance
• Experience with robotics frameworks, such as ROS, and simulators (e.g.AirSim)
• Familiarity with CUDA, streaming video, hardware integration, networking, communications
• Experience with writing sensor drivers
• Understanding about a wide range of autonomy products